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Robert William Barner

The Transformational Odyssey

Synopsis

The Transformational Odyssey shows readers how to take charge of their self-growth and development. It does this by providing readers with several applied techniques for engaging in deep self-learning in a more profound and fundamentally life-changing way.
The word “odyssey” connotes a long, and sometimes arduous and meandering journey. Although an odyssey may present the traveler with unexpected trials and challenges, in the end it may yield increased wisdom and knowledge. Building on this metaphor, The Transformational Odyssey introduces readers to eight passages that they will inevitably encounter during their own personal odysseys of self-discovery. Each of these passages involves a uniquely different learning challenge that, as it is successfully navigated, increases the reader’s capacity for self-growth.
The Transformational Odyssey is written in a conversational style, as if I were sitting down next to the reader to share my forty-plus years of experience as a personal coach and life transition counselor. Since different people learn in different ways, this book incorporates a variety of different learning methods, including actual cases, exercises, suggested actions, famous quotes, and metaphors. For those readers to would like to dig deeper on a given topic, at the end of each chapter I have included a separate section that introduces readers to related cutting-edge research in such topics as mindfulness, meditation, narratives, and future selves.

Author Biography

Executive coach & college professor, with 30 years of corporate talent management experience, and author of nine books, including Working Deeply: Transforming lives through transformational coaching (co-authored with Dr. Ken Ideus), and The Transformational Odyssey.

Author Insight

Breaking Your Chains

I use a lot of metaphors in my book, because I believe that a powerful metaphor can capture a concept at many different levels.
The metaphor of "the chained elephant" is an important life lesson. It reminds us that we often allow ourselves to be chained down and constrained by old beliefs or assumptions that no longer represent who we are.
If you want to move forward in yourself but still feel the tug of that imaginary elephant chain then I invite you to read my book. Perhaps you will find that you are far more powerful than you know.
Break the chain!

Book Excerpt

The Transformational Odyssey

Action 5: Test the Limits of Your Constraints

Do you know how elephants, the most powerful animals on earth, are kept constrained? Soon after they are born, they are bound to a stake by a large and heavy chain. At first the baby elephant struggles a lot, but eventually it gives up. Over time, the elephant’s trainer is able to replace the chains with progressively smaller chains, until the now massive adult elephant can be successfully constrained with a light cord. You see, at some point the elephant “learns” that its chain can’t be broken. In its mind, it still envisions itself as that smaller animal that is bound by something massive and unyielding.

We humans are much the same way. When you were a child, you may have had the experience of being laughed at when you stood in front of your class to speak. If so, you quickly “learned” that you weren’t good at public speaking. Similarly, if you were the last one picked for your school baseball team you quickly “learned” that you were not athletic. In your mind’s eye, that cord by which you were first bound still appears fearsome and unbreakable. Fortunately, sometimes we are lucky enough to encounter life experiences that encourage us to challenge these limiting views of self. Along the way, we look down at our feet to discover that we have been dragging along, not a massive chain, but rather a small piece of broken string. It’s at this point that we often wonder, “Is that what’s been holding me back for so long?”